The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1887-10-15
POKER AT THE CAPITAL.
shrewd Players Of the American Game.
Songrcssmen Who Delight I'm n.

""rewd layer Of the American Game
Songrcssmen Who Delight In II.
"A washington correspondence Of III,
Kansas City Times says: A few evening
since q coterie of gentlemen gathered 10
gether at n of the leading clubs were dis
cussing the interesting subject of poke
playing as practiced at the present era a,
well az in days lang syne at the n%ationa.
capital. Many amusing and indeed inter.
esting incidents were detailed respecting
ihe idiosyncrasies Of various well known
lovers OF tho game, which, II put In print,
would doubtless impair, II not destroy, the
divinity with which common report Is apl
10 hedge some Of our public men, who
have passed current for saints, when in
truth and In fact, as President Lincol,
once observed 10 Senator Wilkinson, OF
minnesota, III we are looking for angels
we won't find them on carth."
one OF the qucerest poker players |
ever sat with" remarked one Of the co.
terie, was Senator Nye, Of Nevada. IIo
was always ready and willing 10 make ~
q game, and never found fault with tho
company, however expert. In fact, he
preferred to play with the best players,
provided the rules Of thcgamc were rigidly
enforced. He mover INDUCED in CONVEX.
sauon, but frequently hunImod "a tune,
preferably an old Methodist hymn. lie
never picked up his cards until they were
an dealt, and he fixed his eyes upon tho
dealer. Before looking nj his hand no
eagerly scanned the faces Of all the other
players, and then held his own cards very
closely TO his breast, 'skinning' each ono
carefully. lie always insisted that the
blind should be limited, but not the bets.
and NhAn In xgaa la Ia, 49,. -.
good the blind M the case might be. lie
indicated the number n cards he desired
10 draw by his fingers two, three or
more fingers went up. lie kept count Of
the bets with unfniling accuracy. nut i'm
his money, and when the call WIS made
simply spread his hand upon the table,
rlking In the pot silently II II was the best
and saying nothing II hc lost.
Neither winning nor losing affected his
serenity, but II wns noticeable that his
losings were rare. lie was satisfied 10 win
or lose reasonable amounts, but was hard
To drive out II he deemed his hand the
best, lie was n cunning old fox. | have
known him To % out on comparatively
strong hands, presumably upon reading
the faces OF his antagonists. lie claimed
10 be able TO read faces pretty accurately,
nut stated 10 me on n occasion that the
anly sphinx face that dcilcd him at cards
was that Of Gen. Grant. The latter played
occasionally ut Fernando Woods card par.
ties In the Wood mansion, now occupied
10y John Chamberlain, aud often nt Zach
Chambers house, aud he worried both
Wood and Chandler by his silent but no
less successful poker playing"
Fernando Wood wis no SLOUGH at
poker, y continued tho narrator. ''but he
liked 10 play with interiors, men he could
beat on the strength OF the game. Occa.
sionally he would run mp against some tyro
playing IN big luck, who could draw the
horns oil n billy goat, NJ Ia speak, aud al
every time. That used 10 eXasperate Fer.
nando, who WIS usually cool and seli.
possessed. Az u c'hOwover, Fernando
generally scooped In the winnings and
many n Congressman and Senator went
broke ut his table, albeit lac always pro.
yidcd u royal feast for his guests and vic
Tins. Indeed. people used "a say that the
supper was part 0f fcrnnndo'a layout, by
which many persons were attracted aud
walked into the SPIDERS parlor."
II do not think, !" said another Of the
party, that there IL NJ much poker play
ing nowadays IN In times past. Money
was plenty during the johnson and Grant
administrations, and hence both private
and public gaming flOufishcd. Money IN
scarce now, and VI course the game IL lin.
tied, particularly among public men. Still,
more poker playing goes ON privately than
u Imagined. When Joe Chaffcc, Of Colo.
rado, was alive aud habitatcd at Washing
ton he made things lively, hut, bless your
soul, he couldn't play poker worth n
cent lie always lost, and the boys used
To divide him out regularly. There arr
lots ol suckers among rich men IN public
life who Hr always worth something 10
h boys nj the poker table. They win
but rarely and nro Just the meat for others.
Why, ] know of one case. AN eastern Scna-
tor, m clever n man ~ ever lived, kind
and generous, with plenty of cash. lie N
sometimes disposed toward poker, and
this weakness IL taken advantage Of by a
brother Senator from q western State, an
adept nj the game, who invariably plucks
him nj the card table. borrowA his mnnay
and makes fun Of him behind his back.
This IL the best paying investments
the western senator has made since he
camo 10 Washington, and he hs made
several.
This little western Senator works ON the
Fernando Wood plan of prcicrring lo play
IN n game he can beat bet, like fcrnan.
do, lac occasionally, rarely, II " true. gets
caught Some year or two since lac was
Invited 10 a dinner party that subsequent
~ merged into a game II poker ut which
he had bad luck and lost some 1928. This
loss made him slucal like u pig under the
gate, and he was indlscrcet enough Ia talk
about the matter ~ II he had been actual.
~ robbed. lie said the dinner was excel.
lent aud the wines splendid. but lac
couldn't afford 10 pay Sl25 for q dish Of
.terranin and "A class al chamuugp, Iq,I. |